Floor maintenance machine

ABSTRACT

A floor cleaning machine having a scrubbing means near the forward end of the body, a system for supplying a cleaning solution to the scrubbing means, and a system for recovering the used solution, said latter system having in conjunction therewith a squeegee device near the rear end of the machine, and a spring bar connected to a support near the center of the machine on the underside thereof and applying a downward pressure on the device. A means is included in the mechanism for adjusting the downward pressure applied by the spring bar to the device, and the spring bar, while applying pressure to the device, flexes to permit the squeegee device to readily pass over uneven floor areas.

United States Patent [451 Mar. 21, 1972 [son [54] FLOOR MAINTENANCEMACHINE [72] Inventor: Wayne Ison, Elkhart, Ind.

[73] Assignee: Keltec, Inc., Elkhart, Ind.

[22] Filed: Feb. 16, 1970 i [21] Appl. No.: 11,506

[52] 0.8. CI ..l5/320, 15/340 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47l 7/00 [58] FieldofSearch ..15/4,50,52,320, 340,98

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,496,591 2/1970 Sheler..15/320 2,317,843 4/1943 Backlund 15/320 X 2,930,055 3/1960 Follen etal.. ....l5/320 X 3,290,716 12/1966 Cain ..l5/320 X PrimaryExaminer-Dave W. Arola Attorney-Hobbs & Green and Kemon, Palmer &Estabrook [5 7] ABSTRACT A floor cleaning machine having a'scrubbingmeans near the forward end of the body, a system for supplying acleaning solution to the scrubbing means, and a system for recoveringthe used solution, said latter system having in conjunction therewith asqueegee device near the rear end of the machine, and a spring barconnected to a support near the center of the machine on the undersidethereof and applying a downward pressure on the device. A means isincluded in the mechanism for adjusting the downward pressure applied bythe spring bar to the device, and the spring bar, while applyingpressure to the device, flexes to permit the squeegee device to readilypass over uneven floor areas.

9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEBMARZI 1912 SHEET 1 OF 3 I N VEN TOR.

WAYNE ISON I/ Z a 74 g;

ATTORNEYS PATH-115mm 1972 3,549,995

SHEET 2 OF 3 M ll L INVENTOR. WAYNE ISON BY m m TTORNEYS PATENTEDMARZII972 3,649,995

' sum 3 UP 3 I ATTORNEYS I FLOOR MAINTENANCE MACHINE Floor cleaningmachines for industrial use generally utilize two counter-rotating,power driven brushes at the forward end, which are supplied with acleaning solution from a tank on the machine, and a solution recoveringmechanism including a squeegee device mounted at the rear from which thedirty solution is delivered to a separate tank on the machine. Thesqueegee devices used on the prior equipment were often ineffective inrecovering all the used cleaning solution from the floor, frequentlyleaving streaks or puddles of solution, particularly in depressions inthe floor and along the path of the machine where they were maneuveredinto various turns and lateral positions. Floor irregularities, such asroughness and small protrusions, often permit the dirty solution to passbeneath the blades on the squeegee and form streaks or spots on thefloor. Further, in the prior machines, the squeegee is extended beyondthe sides of the machine to give the squeegee sufficient breadth torecover the solution while the machine negotiates turns and othermaneuvers. However, the protruding ends of the squeegee frequently bumpor contact walls, posts, and other obstacles and cause damage thereto,or the squeegee is itself damaged by the impact. it is therefore one ofthe principal objects of the present invention to provide a solutionrecovery mechanism which will respond immediately and effectively toadapt itself to slight or moderate floor depressions and protrusions androughness and thereby give optimum performance under such adverseoperating conditions, and which is so constructed and mounted on themachine that it will constantly apply a pressure to the mechanismregardless of the angularity of the mechanism relative to the principalaxis of the floor cleaning machine, and further, that it willeffectively follow the path of the floor surface cleaned by the brushesand will be readily deflected when bumped or sideswiped as the machineis maneuvered along walls and around posts and other objects orobstacles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a floor cleaning machinewith a squeegee operating mechanism having a spring bar which applies apositive pressure to the squeegee and which includes a means foradjusting the positive pressure on the squeegee to adapt it to variousoperating conditions.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a squeegee structurewhich applies a substantially uniform, yieldable pressure to the floorthroughout its length and which will swing freely within a relativelywide horizontal arc to follow the path cleaned by the brushes, as themachine is maneuvered on the floor, and to deflect vertically to adaptto depressions and rises in the floor.

A further object is to provide a relatively simple, troublefree solutionrecovery apparatus for floor cleaning machines, which can be readilycleaned, serviced and adjusted, and which is compact and can easily beincorporated in floor cleaning machines within relatively limited space.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a floor cleaningmachine having two counter-rotating brushes, an efficient solutionrecovery device which causes the solution to flow to the center partthereof and through laterally spaced ports where it is picked up anddelivered to a tank on the machine, and which is provided with asqueegee device movable in all directions for removing water, dirt andcleaning liquid from the floor after completion of the scrubbingoperation performed by the brushes.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a floor cleaning machine showing aportion of the housing broken away for the purpose of betterillustrating the mechanism associated with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the cleaning machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view showing themechanism involved in the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal fragmentary cross sectional view taken on line 44 ofFlG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the solution recovery mechanism involvedin the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of the machine and anelevational view of the solution recovery mechanism shown in FIG. 5.

Referring more specifically to the drawings and to FIGS. 1 and 2 inparticular, numeral 10 designates generally the present floor cleaningmachine, and 12 the sweeping or scrubbing mechanism, having a pair ofrotating brushes l4 and 16 driven by an electric motor or other suitablepower means enclosed in compartment 18 of body 20, the two brushesconsisting of bristle portions 22, backing plates 24 and hubs 26 throughwhich the brushes are driven by a motor in compartment 18. As the twobrushes rotate, water flowing from a water supply system, including atank in the upper part of body 20, is supplied to the brushes throughconduits connected to hubs 26 in the respective brushes. The water, onreaching the brushes, is distributed therein by centrifugal force, andis used in the scrubbing operation as the machine is maneuvered over thefloor. The two brushes are counterrotating, and the water dischargedthrough the brushes tends to collect in a stream trailing the spacebetween the two brushes as the machine is moved generally forwardly overthe area being cleaned. For the purpose of the present description, thetwo brushes and water supply system may be considered conventional, andhence the details thereof will not be described herein.

The machine may be power-driven or pushed by the operator, and, in themachine shown in the drawing, the machine is supported by two mainwheels 34 and 36 mounted on an axle 38 extending transversely beneaththe body of the machine and connected thereto by several supports (notshown). Two casters 40 and 42 including wheels 44 and 46, respectively,support the rear end of the machine body and permit the machine to bemaneuvered effectively over the area to be cleaned and along and aroundobstacles in the area. The two wheels 44 and 46 are connected to thebody by bifurcated members 48 and pivot members 50 attached to theunderside of body 20.

The water recovery mechanism designated by numeral 60 consists generallyof a squeegee device 62 and a control device 64. The squeegee deviceconsists of two front laterally spaced blades 66 and 68 and anintermediate blade 70 interposed between and spaced from blades 66 and68. The front blades are supported by a housing 74 and are secured todownwardly extending flanges on the housing by a plurality of bolts orrivets 75. A rear blade 78 spaced from front blades 66 and 68 is mountedon a downwardly extending flange on housing 74 and is secured thereto bya plurality of bolts or rivets. The blades are preferably made of rubberor plastic material and are sufficiently flexible that, as they movealong the surface of the floor, they will conform readily to theirregularities and contour to form a yieldable seal therewith. Chamber76 is substantially enclosed when the machine is in operation, with theexception of ports 78 and 80 at the inner ends of blades 66 and 68. Thetwo ports thus formed constitute inlet openings for the dirty solutionto enter space 76.

By a mechanism to be described hereinafter, the squeegee blades arepressed downwardly toward the surface of the floor with sufficient forceto create a scraping action, which will not only effectively remove thewater, but will also remove particles of dirt and other foreign mattertending to adhere to the floor, as well as any dry material which may beengaged by the squeegee device. Space or chamber 76 is connected to awater recovery tank in body 20 by a flexible tube 84 secured to nipple86 which in turn is connected to the space 76. The dirty solutioncollected in space 76 is drawn from said space through tube 84 to thesolution recovery tank by a vacuum pump or other suitable pump mechanismdisposed in the housmg.

.The squeegee device 62 is generally arcuate shaped and is connected bya resilient bar or shaft 90 to a swivel joint 92 pivotedly secured toaxle 38. The rear end of spring bar 90 is rigidly connected to thesqueegee device by pin 94 extending downwardly through fixture 95 andthrough a hole in the end of bar 90. The joint 92 consists of a verticalbearing housing 96 pivotally secured to a horizontal bearing housing 98mounted on shaft 38 and held in axial position thereon by sleeves 100and 101 at opposite ends of housing 98. Housing 96 contains a verticalshaft 102 on which the housing rotates freely and on which it isretained by a nut 104 threadedly received on the lower end of the shaft,the shaft being rigidly connected to housing 98 and projectingdownwardly therefrom. The bar 90 is resilient, preferably constructed ofspring steel so that it will flex upwardly and downwardly, asillustrated in FIG. 3 in broken lines, and is connected to housing 96 bybolts 105 and 106 and lug 108 attached to housing 96. The bar also cantwist slightly as it applies pressure to the squeegee device. The joint92 permits shaft 90 to swing freely horizontally, and the fiexure of thespring bar 90 permits the squeegee to adjust in vertical directions.This combination of features and action permits the squeegee device 62to tilt and to move freely laterally and vertically as it follows thepath of the machine and traverses depressions and rises and otherirregularities in the floor.

With the device 64 mounted in the foregoing manner, the squeegee device62 is capable of moving freely laterally in a generally arcuatedirection and is readily deflected when a projecting end thereofcontacts an object or obstacle or when the machine moves along the wallor sideswipes an object. Wheels 107, shown only in FIGS. 1 and 2, arerotatably mounted on shafts 109, which in turn are mounted on the upperside of the outer ends of housing 74, and roll when they contact anobject such as a wall, thereby protecting the wall as the device movesalong the floor closely thereto to remove the dirty solution. The wheelsalso facilitate effective deflection when the respective end of thesqueegee device contacts an obstacle. It is seen that the center of thearc of the squeegee device is on the axis of shaft 38, thus causing thedevice to move longitudinally in line with its own curvature when it isdeflected to the right or left as the machine is maneuvered over thearea being cleaned. This facilitates effective removal of the dirtysolution, regardless of the various positions into which the machine ismaneuvered during the cleaning operation. The pressure of the squeegeeblades on the floor is controlled by the resilience and flexure ofspring bar 90 and by the pressure adjustment means indicated by numeral110. This adjustment means consists of a lever 112 rigidly connected tohousing 98 and projecting upwardly therefrom and a shaft 114 pivotallyconnected to the upper end oflever 112 and extending through a rigidbracket 116 mounted on the underside of the body of the machine. The endof shaft 114 opposite lever 112 has a threaded portion 118, and a nut120 is threaded onto the threaded portion and seated against bracket116. When nut 120 is tightened against the side of bracket 116, it movesrod 114 and lever 112 to the left as viewed in FIG. 4,

V thus rotating the lever and housing 98 in the counterclockwisecleaned. When the nut is loosened, the resiliency of the spring barreacting against the squeegee device causes housings 96 and 98 and lever112 to rotate in the clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 4, thusretaining the nut against the adjacent side of bracket 116, therebyrelieving or reducing the pressure applied by the spring bar to thesqueegee device and hence reducing the pressure applied by the squeegeedevice onto the floor. The spring bar 90 may be made of any suitablematerial, preferably somewhat wider than the thickness thereof. Thespring bar, however, will tend to twist sufficiently to permit thesqueegee device to adapt to uneven floor conditions. The degree offlexing of spring bar 90 in a normal operating condition depends uponthe resiliency of the metal forming the bar,

and by theproper selection of the spring bar characteristics, theresiliency or flexure may be varied over a wide range, and the verticaltravel of the squeegee in performing the normal operation can likewisebe varied over a wide range.

In the cleaning operation, the two counter-rotating brushes 14 and 16are placed in operation, and the water-detergent solution is deliveredto the brushes which are maneuvered by the operator over the area beingcleaned. As the brushes rotate and the machine is moved forwardly, thedirty solution accumulates in a stream trailing the space between thetwo brushes. As the squeegee device reaches the stream, the dirty wateris deflected laterally by blades 66, 68 and/or 70 to ports 78 and 80 andis emulsified and sucked inwardly into space 76 where it is removedthrough tube 84 to a collecting tank in body 20. The two lateral blades66 and 68, which are both arcuate and positioned with the outer endsforwardly of the inner ends, cause the dirty solution to flow inwardlyto ports 78 and 80. The intermediate squeegee 70 normally trailsdirectly behind the space between the two counter-rotating brushes andthereby performs an effective scraping action on the floor for removingany foreign material left by the two brushes in the space therebetween.The dirty solution and foreign material pass outwardly laterally alongthe intermediate blade to ports 78 and 80 and are drawn therethroughinto space 76. Any foreign material or dirty solution passing under theblades 66, 68 and 70 is caught in space 76 in front of blade 78, thelatter blade performing the function of recovering any materialremaining after the front blades have passed over the floor.

As the machine is maneuvered over the area being cleaned and is turnedeither to the right or the left, the squeegee device swings in theopposite direction relative to the body of the machine to followeffectively the path cleaned by the two brushes. Since the squeegeedevice is mounted on the spring bar 90, it effectively adapts itself toirregularities and to the contour of the floor. Sufficient pressure isapplied by the spring bar onto the squeegee device to cause the bladesto press firmly on the floor and to adjustto depressions, rises,roughness and, other irregularities in the floor. In the event either ofthe ends of the squeegee device engages an obstacle,

"the device is readily deflected laterally with little or no resistanceto the obstacle, thereby preventing damage to the obstacle and/or to thecleaning machine.

While only one embodiment of the present cleaning machine has beendescribed in detail herein, various changes and modifications may bemade without departing from the scope of the invention.

Iclaimz l. A floor cleaning machine having abody, scrubbing means nearthe forward end of the body, a system for supplying a cleaning solutionto thcscrubbing means, and a system for recovering used solution: a usedsolution recovery mechanism comprising a squeegee device extendinglaterallyacross the 1 rear part of the machine at the bottom thereof, aspring bar connected at one end to said device, a support beneath saidbody forthe other end of said spring bar, said support means including abearing means pivotally mounting said bar on said support for angularmovement of said bar on a substantially horizontal plane, and a meansnear said other end resisting the upward angular movement of said barand causing said bar to apply a yieldable positive downward pressure onsaid device.

2. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine as definedin claim 1 in which said second mentioned means includes means forvarying the downward pressure applied by said bar on said device.

3. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine as definedin claim 2 in which said support beneath the body for the said other endof said spring bar includes a pivot means on a horizontal transverseaxis.

4. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine as definedin claim 3 in which said bearing means is moveable angularly on saidhorizontal pivot means and said second mentioned means includes meansfor adjusting the angularity of said bearing means to vary the downwardpressure of the spring bar on said device.

5 A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine as definedin claim 4 in which said'second mentioned means includes a lever spacedangularly from said spring bar connected to said bearing means andadjusted to vary the downward pressure on said device.

6. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine as definedin claim 5 in which said second mentioned means includes a rod having athreaded portion thereon attached to said lever and a threaded meansmounted on said rod for varying the angularity of said lever withrespect to said spring bar.

7. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine as definedin claim 1 in which said spring bar is constructed of spring steel andflexes as said squeegee device traverses uneven floor areas.

8. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine as definedin claim 6 in which said spring bar is constructed of spring steel andflexes as said squeegee device traverses uneven floor areas.

9. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine as definedin claim 8 in which said cleaning machine has a pair of wheels and atransversely arranged axle for said wheels, and said pivot means ismounted on said axle.

1. A floor cleaning machine having a body, scrubbing means near theforward end of the body, a system for supplying a cleaning solution tothe scrubbing means, and a system for recovering used solution: a usedsolution recovery mechanism comprising a squeegee device extendinglaterally across the rear part of the machine at the bottom thereof, aspring bar connected at one end to said device, a support beneath saidbody for the other end of said spring bar, said support means includinga bearing means pivotally mounting said bar on said support for angularmovement of said bar on a substantially horizontal plane, and a meansnear said other end resisting the upward angular movement of said barand causing said bar to apply a yieldable positive downward pressure onsaid device.
 2. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaningmachine as defined in claim 1 in which said second mentioned meansincludes means for varying the downward pressure applied by said bar onsaid device.
 3. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaningmachine as defined in claim 2 in which said support beneath the body forthe said other end of said spring bar includes a pivot means on ahorizontal transverse axis.
 4. A solution recovery mechanism in a floorcleaning machine as defined in claim 3 in which said bearing means ismoveable angularly on said horizontal pivot means and said secondmentioned means includes means for adjusting the angularity of saidbearing means to vary the downward pressure of the spring bar on saiddevice.
 5. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine asdefined in claim 4 in which said second mentioned means includes a leverspaced angularly from said spring bar connected to said bearing meansand adjusted to vary the downward pressure on said device.
 6. A solutionrecovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine as defined in claim 5 inwhich said second mentioned means includes a rod having a threadedportion thereon attached to said lever and a threaded means mounted onsaid rod for varying the angularity of said lever with respect to saidspring bar.
 7. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machineas defined in claim 1 in which said spring bar is constructed of springsteel and flexes as said squeegee device traverses uneven floor areas.8. A solution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine as definedin claim 6 in which said spring bar is constructed of spring steel andflexes as said squeegee device traverses uneven floor areas.
 9. Asolution recovery mechanism in a floor cleaning machine as defined inclaim 8 in which said cleaning machine has a pair of wheels and atransversely arranged axle for said wheels, and said pivot means ismounted on said axle.